Dennis v. United States
384 U.S. 855 · Decided June 20, 1966 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Dennis v. United States was decided on June 20, 1966 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Abe Fortas wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Internal security legislation” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 384 U.S. 855 · 86 S. Ct. 1840 · 16 L. Ed. 2d 973 · 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2812
- Docket number
- 502
- Decided
- June 20, 1966
- Argued
- April 20, 1966
- Court era
- Warren Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Abe Fortas
- Opinion assigned by
- Earl Warren
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Internal security legislation
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- 18 U.S.C. § 371
- Type of law
- Infrequently litigated statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Tom C. Clark | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Earl Warren | Majority | |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Majority | |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Justice Abe Fortas | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Dennis et al. v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1965-135, docket 1965-135-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Internal security legislation”
- United States v. Laub
- Travis v. United States
- Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control BoardLaw held unconstitutional
- United States v. BrownAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Zemel v. Rusk
- American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born v. Subversive Activities Control Board
Cases on the same legal provision: 18 U.S.C. § 371
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control BoardLaw held unconstitutional
- Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham
- Solomon v. South Carolina
- Rosenblatt v. Baer
- A Book Named 'john Cleland's Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure' v. Attorney General of Massachusetts
- Ginzburg v. United States
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error